LONDON-Hutchison Whampoa plc is selling $2.5 billion in exchangeable notes, which can be converted for part of its 3.47-percent stake in Vodafone Group plc, according to international press reports. Vodafone’s share price slipped on the news.
Hutchison obtained a 5.2-percent stake in Vodafone when the U.K.-based company purchased Mannesmann AG last year. Hutchison’s stake has since been reduced to about 3.47 percent.
Hutchison’s current deal covers one-quarter of this amount, or 536 million shares.
